Aggies rushing leader to cap career

Published: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 01:02 AM.

GREENSBORO — Mike Mayhew arrived at North Carolina A&T aware of what needed to be achieved to become one of the greatest running backs in school history.

And he went out and did that.

This afternoon against rival North Carolina Central, Mayhew will end his college career in his last game with the Aggies. He’ll exit as the school’s all-time leading rusher.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Mayhew said. “It's one of the biggest accomplishments for myself. When I signed at A&T coming out of high school, I (saw) that record.”

With 3,405 rushing yards, Mayhew is one of 12 players in the history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to reach the 3,000-yard mark. Those have come on a school-record 721 carries, displaying a durability that allowed him to play in every game except one in his career.

The Aggies, who own a three-game winning streak, have secured their first winning season in nine years, ending the longest drought without a winning record in the program’s 89 years of football. Winning today would give N.C. A&T its first four-game winning streak (or better) to end a season in 44 years.

Mayhew, who arrived from East Mecklenburg in Charlotte, has had quite a bit to do with it. He’s still going strong as evidenced by his 141 rushing yards in last week’s victory against South Carolina State.

GREENSBORO — Mike Mayhew arrived at North Carolina A&T aware of what needed to be achieved to become one of the greatest running backs in school history.

And he went out and did that.

This afternoon against rival North Carolina Central, Mayhew will end his college career in his last game with the Aggies. He’ll exit as the school’s all-time leading rusher.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Mayhew said. “It's one of the biggest accomplishments for myself. When I signed at A&T coming out of high school, I (saw) that record.”

With 3,405 rushing yards, Mayhew is one of 12 players in the history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to reach the 3,000-yard mark. Those have come on a school-record 721 carries, displaying a durability that allowed him to play in every game except one in his career.

The Aggies, who own a three-game winning streak, have secured their first winning season in nine years, ending the longest drought without a winning record in the program’s 89 years of football. Winning today would give N.C. A&T its first four-game winning streak (or better) to end a season in 44 years.

Mayhew, who arrived from East Mecklenburg in Charlotte, has had quite a bit to do with it. He’s still going strong as evidenced by his 141 rushing yards in last week’s victory against South Carolina State.

“I want to be that guy,” he said.

But earlier this season he found himself behind Dominique Drake on the depth chart. That bothered Mayhew, who said he determined that he would have to work harder.

N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway liked the response from Mayhew to this challenge and it has resulted in a solid senior season.

“When he runs down hill, he’s amazing,” Broadway said. “He has great feet, great vision.”

At times, Mayhew has lined up for direct snaps. “Trying to get the ball in my hands more,” he said. “Getting the ball immediately, I can hit a hole faster.”

Mayhew called his diminished status earlier in the season “a big motivator,” but one he was able to pull through.

“I never sat on a bench wherever,” he said. “It kind of hurt my pride a little bit.”

He had other challenging moments along the way. For instance, the night he broke the school rushing record, which had been held by running back Maurice Hicks (who gained 2,812 yards in a career ending in 2011), Mayhew had to do it twice.

Shortly before halftime he passed Hicks’ total. But on his next carry, he lost yards and dropped back to second place on the career list. It wasn’t until his first attempt after halftime that he crossed that mark again and stayed atop the rushing chart.

Today will mark the seventh game since Mayhew became the school record-holder. In his mind, he said he might as well tack on some more to that rushing total.